Starting a Franchise vs. Starting a Business

Starting a Franchise vs. Starting a Business

Do you want to be your own boss and gain financial independence? If so, you have two options. There’s starting your own business or buying into a franchise in Canada. For first-time entrepreneurs or hopeful business owners seeking a fast return on their time and effort, franchising is commonly the way to go.

What is franchising?

When you buy into a franchise, you are essentially given an infrastructure for launching and growing a business under an already established brand. For example, Metropolitan Movers is a moving company with franchises available in Canada and abroad. When someone buys a franchise from us, they receive everything they need – accounting and financial support, equipment, resources, and marketing – to launch. In some sense of the word, franchising is like having a small business except you don’t have to do it alone.

Is starting your own business better than having a franchise?

There are many reasons to start your own business but it comes with a lot of risks. For new businesses, it can take time to become profitable and for some, they never do. To this point, there’s no guarantee of success which is why the rate of failure is so high for new businesses. It’s also more difficult to get financing as lenders or investors can see small businesses, depending on the category, as risky investments.

Comparatively, if you search franchises for sale in Canada, you’ll find unique opportunities to plug into brands like ours that have already established relationships, successful business processes, and who have resources to contribute. You can also start reaping in profits on pretty much day one. It’s also generally easier to get financing for a franchise because there’s a proven business model there. If you’ve never opened or operated a company before, franchise business in Canada is the closest thing to a risk-free investment you’ll find.

Flexibility

Where a small business can sometimes succeed a franchise is in its flexibility. When an entrepreneur chooses to launch their own business, they want the flexibility to be able to call the shots about products, services, marketing, and other things. With a franchise, you don’t necessarily always have this right although this does vary organization to organization. In franchising, there can still be a lot of flexibility and you still very much are still your own boss.

Recognition

Recognition means you don’t have to fight to establish yourself as a competitor in your local marketplace. You have an established brand that’s ready to do what it can on your behalf to give your small business status, which will help acquire customers and build profits. For small business owners who may require some guidance on things like marketing and customer acquisition, it’s significantly easier to do with a franchise than it is having a business on your own.

Collaboration

With your own small business, you don’t really have anyone to collaborate with or anyone else to rely on other than yourself. With a franchise organization model, it’s quite the opposite. You grow under a brand, with the benefits of group advertising resources, having a guide to ask questions and discuss challenges and to develop your own business management skillset.

The best franchises in Canada offer these advantages because it allows them the opportunity to expand operations while supporting small business owners in Canada. Deciding between starting a franchise or starting a business, collaboration certainly must factor into your decision.

Expenses

Upfront costs for starting a franchise in Canada can vary however a lot of franchise opportunities end up being less expensive than having to put up the money for your own business. When you start any business, you need to have the money to buy equipment, set up systems, pay employees, cover all start-up and registration fees, rent the premises, and more. Everything has to come out of your own pocket or from a lender.

Alternatively, owning a franchise, there are franchise fees which need to be paid and at times, this expense may be too high to want to buy in. Comparing franchise costs and the costs of starting a small business though, in most cases, franchises win out as the cheaper option. All those upfront costs for equipment, registration, etc. can be worked out with the franchise. Support-wise, you can receive a lot of guidance ensuring you’re spending money right and doing what you need to be or stay profitable.

Education

Another area that we can’t help but acknowledge is the education you receive as a franchise owner in Canada. Having your own small business, you’re on your own and your mistakes are your own. Those mistakes could even cost you your business in the long run. As a franchise owner, you always have help. You have the independence of running your own small business with the network support of other franchisees, leaders, and a wide variety of resources to pull from.

You don’t need any business ownership experience to run a franchise. As long as you are committed and willing to do what it takes to perform, a franchisor will typically provide the training you need to maximize their business model. Do you need financing in Canada for your franchise? Your franchisor may be able to help. If you’re coming to this with a lot of ambition and dedication but perhaps not so much experience, you can learn a lot about managing employees, reputation and image management, marketing, work practices, and more.

A higher likelihood of success with franchising in Canada

If you’ve been looking for cheap franchises in Canada to buy and/or for a highly profitable business to plug into, franchises have a higher likelihood of succeeding compared to small businesses. Did you know franchise revenues in Canada account for approximately 35 percent of all retail sales – it’s true. Franchise businesses produce big numbers which is a huge factor to weigh if you want to make money right away and if you can’t afford to wait months or possibly years for an independent small business to get to profit.

Deciding between starting a franchise and starting a business, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. For first-time business owners, Canadians determined to succeed as business owners, or employees looking to move up to ownership, franchising is your best opportunity.